


Escapism

by Eluveitie



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Holodeck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-14 05:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11201190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eluveitie/pseuds/Eluveitie
Summary: A stressful week convinces Deanna to invite Data and Geordi in on one of her guilty pleasures.





	Escapism

**Author's Note:**

> This work was done for a secret santa gift exchange last year. I hope you'll enjoy, and please leave any criticisms or compliments in the comments if you have any!

Exhaustion pooled in her body. Today, for some inexplicable reason, was especially draining on Troi; it seemed like half the ship needed some emotional support for whatever personal issue was ailing them. To Deanna, counseling was the most fulfilling job she could have landed in, but it was the hardest as well, mentally, and these kinds of days were proof. Once she got back to her quarters that night, she collapsed on her chair and stayed there for a long while.

She was mildly annoyed when she heard beeping from her door, having just fixed herself some hot chocolate and turned on some Vulcan music, her favorite. Luckily, the person outside the door was not someone she had to fatigue herself by flexing her empathic powers with. Troi happily gave her visitor permission to enter.

“Counselor,” began the android as he stepped through her door frame. “Geordi and I will be visiting Ten Forward at twenty-hundred hours. Would you like to accompany us?” As straightforward as ever. 

“Sure, Data.” Troi was too exhausted to do anything at the moment, but a meet-up with friends in a few hours when she was more relaxed would be very welcome. She did feel a bit left out, though; they haven’t asked her to join them in quite a bit. “Have you two missed me since we’ve last talked?”

Data appeared perplexed for a moment. “Counselor, you know I can not miss someone.” Sure. “We realized we have not spoken with you in a casual setting as of late and would like to remedy that.”

Deanna hummed contentedly. “Of course, Data. I’ll be happy to come after I’m rested.” Thinking back, it had been a long while since they’ve talked, in a non-professional setting at least. 

Data nodded, and without a goodbye, turned and walked into the halls. The light swish of closing doors followed immediately. Troi looked at the door, unfocused for a short time, before slumping once more against the back of her chair. She requested that the computer wake her up at 19:30, more than enough time to not be late. In a few gulps she downed her hot chocolate, went to her bed, and let sleep overtake her. 

 

Ten Forward was less busy than usual. There were clusters of two, three people spaced out evenly at the tables. Their quiet murmurs fused to fill the bar with noise.

Troi gave a quick nod to Guinan. Guinan was mixing a bubbling, dark green beverage, presumably for the Bajoran crewmember sitting at the bar. Guinan returned the gesture, and Troi walked into the sitting area, deciding on an unoccupied table at the center of the room. It was a few minutes before the appointed time; Geordi and Data would most likely sit at her table the second Data’s internal clock struck twenty-hundred. 

Unoccupied, her eyes gravitated towards the wide windows to her left. The viewport left the cosmos bare for her. Troi was refreshed from her nap; the stressors that had affected her seemed as distant as the swirling colors of space. She was glad the beauty of the universe hadn’t faded, even after all these years aboard the Enterprise.

Looking out the window, she thought of nothing specific until voices entering the bar forced her attention away from the passing galaxies. An even, calm voice idly conversed with a highly energized one until they were right next to her.

“Hey, Deanna!” greeted Geordi, as both he and Data pulled out chairs for themselves. 

“Hello, Counselor.”

“Hello, you two. Where are you coming from?”

“Engineering. He-” Geordi gestured to his compatriot “- decided to pick me up there.”

“I was let off earlier than expected.”

“Oh…” replied Troi. She felt the focus of the other bar patrons shift briefly onto the the two before recentering on their previous conversations.

“It’s been awhile, hasn’t it, Deanna? Been a couple weeks since we talked here.”

“Your right, Geordi. I would’ve come to you two earlier, but I’ve been far too stressed recently.”

“No kidding.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, leaning further into her chair. “I’ve been extremely busy lately, and according to my schedule, I’m going to continue to be busy. Today was especially tiring.”

Thankfully, Geordi was sympathetic. “Same here. Engineering has been having small crisis after small crisis for nearly a week. As soon as the problems stop coming one after another, I’m taking my break.”

Troi gave a slight smile.”You should. You’ve more than earned it.” She turned to Data, who folded his hands politely in front of him. “How’ve you been lately, Data?”

“I am unable to feel stressed as you do-”

“Right.”

“-however, I too have had an increasing lack of free time as of late.”

“Oh?”

“Various issues have ‘cropped up’ that I have needed to attend to. I have little time to work on my paintings or be as attentive as I want to Spot.”

“Same here. My model ship has been half-finished for a week and a half.”

Strange. Was the entire ship experiencing the same work-related strain? Work ebbed and flowed for everyone, but it was a bit of a coincidence that the workload for everyone by chance happened to spike, to the point where they were coming to her in droves for emotional support.

“Hey, do either of you have anything to do today?”

“I am unoccupied for the remainder of the day.”

“I’m free until some new malfunction reveals itself.”

Troi rapped her fingernails on the table a few times. “Perhaps we could all do something to unwind?”

“I was thinking the same thing. We could…”Geordi trailed off. “I guess our best choice would be the Holodeck. Do you have any preference?”

“Ah…” Troi should have thought of something specific before mentioning wanting to do something. She did have a special program that she would love to spend some time in, but the other two would never go for it, she thought. Quickly, she thought of something random. “Maybe the beach?”

“Not a fan of the beach.”

“What!?” exclaimed Troi in half-mock half-genuine offense.

Geordi shrugged. “Not my thing.” He thought for a bit. “We could do one of our roleplays? It doesn’t have to be Sherlock if you don’t want.”

“Well…” Troi really wasn’t in the mood for roleplay. It wasn’t the best way to unwind, at least for her. The urge to suggest her other program was growing, but she was absolutely positive Geordi and Data wouldn’t go for it. It was rather silly, to put it mildly.

But it wouldn’t hurt to try, would it? “I have a better one, I think.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“That’s gonna have to be a secret,” Troi replied, with a wink.

Data finally interjected on the conversation, intrigued. “Do you wish to surprise us, Counselor?”

“I think it would be better if neither of you knew what you were getting into.”

“Well, this sounds interesting.” Geordi perked up as Data did, and Troi become even more anxious that they wouldn’t enjoy this particular guilty pleasure of hers. 

“Great! Then I’ll go get changed and set up the program. Meanwhile…” She inhaled. “You two are going to have to change out of your uniforms. Pick something you’d wear to bed”

“I do not sleep.”

“Then dress in whatever you imagine people would like to sleep in.” Data contemplated this for a moment before nodding. “Ok then, I’ll see both of you when you’re ready.” Troi stood from her chair and walked toward the doors, with a lightness in her step. “See you guys soon!” she said, waving over her shoulder as the doors of Ten forward closed behind her. Data turned to the engineer.

“This should prove to be...interesting.”

“I’d hope so, for how suspicious she was being.” Geordi cocked his head to the doors. “Come one, let’s prepare.”

They walked out of ten-forward to their respective quarters, where they decided on their clothes for whatever Deanna Troi had in store for them. 

 

“Hey guys!” Deanna reacted to Data and Geordi appearing at the holodeck as if she was surprised they showed up.

“Hey, Deanna. You seem comfortable.” Troi chuckled at that. Her usual satin, pink, horrifically uncomfortable-looking pyjamas were nowhere to be seen. Instead, she wore a black tank top with soft, fuzzy purple pants. The other two were dressed in different pyjama styles; Geordi opted for sweatpants and a t-shirt while Data chose striped pants and a long-sleeved shirt.

“Ok, the program is all set up. Now I want both of you to close your eyes.”

Both Geordi and Data’s eyebrows went up. Data was the first to speak. “Is the program that much of a surprise, Counselor?”

“It’ll have a better effect the less you know what you’re getting into.”

Data nodded and obediently shut his eyes. Geordi shrugged and did the same, a bit reluctantly. Nervously, Troi opened the holodeck doors, rushed behind her friends, and ushered them inside onto soft carpeting.

“Ok, open up now!”

They did so and immediately began twisting their heads around the room, absorbing the colors; white walls, purple carpet, pink sheets on the bunkbed at the far end of the room. The room had a liberal collection of stuffed animals and fluffy pillows, which were strewn around the room in a seemingly haphazard way.

“Interesting,” said Data, finally breaking the silence. “An extremely accurate portrayal of a slumber party from 1990’s to 2000’s Earth.” Still he looked with interest around the room. 

“I don’t know what I was expecting…” added Geordi, who was taken aback a touch. “...but it wasn’t this. I wouldn’t think this was your style, Deanna.”

“Well it is,” she replied with a nearly defiant edge. “Now that we’re all here, how about we all get comfortable.” She sat on one of the pillows in the middle of the floor and looked up wide-eyed, expectantly up at her two guests. Data eagerly followed her lead, taking a pillow directly across from her while still looking curiously around the room. Geordi hesitated, but eventually obeyed Troi’s stare and lied down, with his chest on one of the pillows. 

“When in Rome, I guess.”

“We are not in Rome, Geordi.”

“It’s an expression, Data.”

“Oh this is exciting!” exclaimed Troi with a bright grin. “This is the first time I’ve had anyone else in this program with me. What would you two like to do?”

“Well, what do you usually do here?” was Geordi’s lazy rebuttal. All he honestly wanted to do at this point was go sleep on the top bunk of the bed; he was exhausted and the soft carpet of the room was not helping that.

He could practically see Troi hitting a mental roadblock. “I don’t know, actually. I usually just come here to relax when I’m stressed; I haven’t had to entertain guests here.” Troi looked down and tapped her finger on her knee for a time before shrugging. “How about we play cards for a bit and decide from there?”

Data’s reply drew Geordi’s eye to him, where he noticed that Data had taken a stuffed rabbit into his lap. 

As Geordi tried stifling his chuckling, Troi requested that the computer materialize some cards and poker chips. It did so, directly in front of her. “Perfect!” She began shuffling the deck as Data set out to give each person $500 in chips.

“What’ll it be, boys? Texas Hold’em? Blackjack?”

“Let’s go with Texas Hold’em,” replied Geordi. With that, Deanna dealt out each person’s hands, set up the flop, and began.

 

“Did I tell you two my mother is coming tomorrow?” Deanna said after a long moment of silence. She had long ago asked the computer to dematerialize the cards and chips - Data had won, but by a small margin. The three now simply chose to talk, lacking any other ideas on how to entertain themselves.

“Ouch… I’m sorry,” replied Geordi, who was well aware of Lwaxana Troi’s shenanigans. He sipped at the vanilla milkshake he materialized for himself.

She groaned. “Yesterday would be mostly free if not for her.” Troi buried her face in her pillow, which created a striking resemblance to a moping teenager. 

“God, why does she always have to cause some kind of… annoyance. I won’t be able to relax with her around. She’ll probably try to set me up with some nice young man from Betazed, heh.” Troi thought of that prospect with good humor, before resettling into her rut of despair. “If only I could communicate to her why I don’t want her to do the things she does.”

“Have you tried being ‘blunt’ with your mother, Counselor?” suggested Data, wanting to help his friend. “Perhaps she would respond best to that.”

“Trust me, Data, I have tried every form of communication possible with my mother; it just never seems to get through.”

“Hmm…” He seemed to be trying to find some piece of advice that could help her in these matters, but he could find none. “I am sorry as well.”

Deanna chuckled. “It’s quite alright Data.”

They fell into another quiet lull before Geordi piped up. “Hey, maybe your mom can try setting me up with some girl from your home planet. Just… just a thought.”

Troi smiled lightly. “No, I don’t think she’d be up for that.”

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to ask would it?”

“Geordi, why would you want Lwaxana Troi to arrange a date with somebody from Betazed for you?”

“O-oh, I’m joking Data. Mostly.” He paused, trying to articulate his thoughts. “It’s just I could use some sort of matchmaker, you know?”

Data seemed to understand. “Are you referring to your frequent relationship troubles?”

“Yes, Data, my frequent relationship troubles.”

“You have yet to exhaust your options on this ship,” offered Data. “Would it not be premature to seek out a ‘matchmaker’?”

“That’s true, but…”

“In addition, you have many attributes that would be attractive to a potential lover. I do not believe you would need much help, despite the few setbacks you have had.”

Geordi would have responded had Troi not interjected. “He’s right, Geordi. You’re over-exaggerating how many relationships you’ve had that have failed. There’s a ton of people on this ship that would be very happy to be your partner.”

“And how do you know that?”

Deanna rolled her eyes and tapped the side of her head. “How do you think?”

“...Oh!” gasped Geordi. He now felt more reassured about his relationship status then he had been in a long  time.

The trio fell silent again for a few seconds. Once Data sensed that the topic of conversation had completely  passed, he decided to bring up a new topic. “I am concerned that my goal of becoming more human will be ultimately fruitless.”

Geordi had a triple take. “Ah, I’m sorry, buddy…”

Data reeled back. “Have I said something wrong?” he implored. “I thought we were discussing our issues.”

“Ah, no, it’s fine Data!” Troi insisted. She wasn’t aiming for this to turn into a therapy session, but here they were. “Why...why would you think that? You’ve been making marvelous progress.”

Data looked pointedly at the floor. “I would hardly call it ‘marvelous;’ it is still difficult to assimilate with humans and I have not learned the finer points of humor or comfort, though I have tried. I…” he paused, needing to think of his next words. “...will continue my efforts, but it has been...disheartening.”

“I don’t know, Data, you just comforted Geordi very effectively about his relationship issues.”

“Did I?”

“You did! And a lot of people aren’t good at humor. It’s not necessarily a prerequisite for humanity or something.”

“...ah.” 

“Besides,” added Geordi, “is it really important if you can’t fully blend in? A lot of humans can’t even do that, and that doesn’t mean anything’s wrong with them, or anything like that.”

“Yeah, Data. It won’t really matter if everyone doesn’t fully accept you, because either way…” Troi felt for Data’s hands, and grasped them in her own once she found them. “...you’ll always have people who do.”

Geordi slammed his cup on the ground, startling Deanna. “Replicated milkshakes taste like shit.” He was not up for any saccharine garbage at the moment. 

Troi side-eyed hard towards Geordi before making a tight-lipped smile. “We were having a moment.”

“Hey, have you two heard of the fight that happened at ten-forward a few days ago?”

“Yes, I have, Geordi. Have you ascertained why they had such a conflict?”

“No idea; I haven’t had the chance to ask anyone who was there.”

“Wait, there was a fight?” Troi wasn’t fond of the subject change, but this new information surprised her. News usually came to her pretty quickly.

“Worf was there at the time, so it must have been broken up pretty quickly. Nothing major.”

“I have always been curious as to why people get into such fights,” voiced Data. “What is the advantage of getting into such an unproductive conflict?”

Troi confidently answered his query. “You’re right; it’s extremely unproductive. It’s generally just an issue of self-control. Someone gets angry, and they don’t know how to deal with that emotion so they get physical.” She looked up at the ceiling. “It could also be a dominance thing.”

“Ah… interesting.”

“Hey!” interrupted Geordi. “Have I ever told you two about that big bar fight I saw once?”

He continued on a detailed story of broken chairs and pool sticks, black eyes, and ambulances. From there, the conversation flowed from subject to subject, unfocused and disjointed. The trio talked on the soft floor for a long while, until they were too tired to talk anymore. Once they were all quiet, Troi sighed happily.

“Computer, end program.” The computer did so. The bed and stuffed animals in the corners of the room faded to reveal the black and yellow grid hiding behind them. The grid faded hurriedly into the room at different spots until it was all that could be seen. They stood up, synchronized. Geordi and Troi stretched their stiff arms and legs, with Data closely imitating them.

“This was fun you guys,” Troi started with a chuckle. “Let’s do this again sometime.”

“I would greatly enjoy that, Counselor.”

“Same here.”

Troi nodded, smiling broadly, before bouncing out into the halls. Geordi and Data did the same, letting the doors to the holodeck swish gently shut behind them.


End file.
